Door operating mechanism



Dec. 18, 1934 NlCHQLs v L$4592 DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed July 16, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l v f mm @60 L. N250];

Dec. 18, 1934.

I F. L. NICHOLS DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed July 16, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 VIII Dec. 18,1fi34. F. L. NECHOLS DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 15 Dec. 18, 1934. F. 1.. NICHOLS DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed July 15, 1931 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jim Patented Dec. 18, 1934 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,984,692 noon OPERATING MEOHANIISM Fred L. Nichols, Minneapolis, Minn. Application July 16,1931, Serial No. 551,106 -a Claims.' (01. ice-co My present invention relates to door oper'atthe pr mary m tor y d d v re ther o mg mechanism and particularly to that type of. under pressure from pump 16. The secondary door operating mechanism wherein fluid is emmotive devices, or 1mm pressure motors A, are Dloyed as a power transmitting medium between operative one on each of the doors 12 and are 5 a primary source of power and a door or doors mounted one near each side and above the door 5 to be operated thereby and generally stated, the p n invention consists of novel devices and combina Th fluid Pressure meters A each include tions of devices hereinafter described and defined h ll-lik cas 17 t t for a m n al chamin the claims. ber 18. Each casing 17 is made up of a flat .10 Among the important'objects of the invention wall 19, a segmental wall 20 formed with a 10.

is the provision of an extremely simple, o bottom 21, and a removable cover 22. The front paratively inexpensive and highly efiicient deand backwalls 19 and 20, respectively, are tightvice of the class described, 1y secured together to afiord leak-proof joints In the accompanying drawings, which illustherebetween by means of stud bolts 23 and the trate the invention, like characters indicate like covers 22 are removably but tightly secured in parts throughout the several view place'by stud bolts 24 and afford leak-proof clo- Referring tothe drawings: sures for the chambers 18. The motors A are Fig. 1 is a fragmentary interior view of a Secured i P e y bolts 0! th l e 3. building. n having door-equipped opening Extending axially through the segmental chamtherein and illustrating my operating mechanism ber 18 of each casing 17 is a spindle 25 that is in operative relation t th d journaled at one end in a bearing hole 26 in the Fig. 2 isan enlarged detail view of certain bottom 21 of its respective casing and at its PP partsshown in Fig. 1, with some parts b k site end in a bearing boss 2'7 in the cover 22 of -away; its respective casing. The spindles project up- 25 Fig. 3 is a view partly in section and partly wardly through the bearing bosses 2'7 and are 25 in elevation and taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; qu pp d a th ir p j t d d w h d y ut Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken on the line detaehably secured door operating s 8 t a 4-4 of Fig. 2; are connected at their free ends to adjacent doors Fig. 5 is an axial sectional view taken on the lin 12 in a manner to be hereinafter described. The 5-5 of Fig. 2; .bearing bosses 27- are provided with pack nut- 30 Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken on the q p Stuffing b es 29, which p t leakage line 6-6 of Fig. 2; of fluid therethrough.

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on the Carried by the p le 25 o each motor A for irregular line 7-7 of Fig. 6; pivotal oscillatory movements therewith about the Fig 8 is diagrammatib View illustrating the axis of the chamber 18 thereof is an oscillatory 35 electrical' and hydraulic backup of the mecha- P 5 in the form a Vane These vanes 30 i are formed: at their edge portions, beyond their 9 is an enlarged detail View taken on the respective cooperative spindles 25, withgrooves 31 l 9 of Fig 1 some parts being Shawnv in in which grooves are seated outwardly springsection and some parts being shown in full; P d Sealing strips 32 that seat against 841- 40 and e jacent portions of their respective casings and re- Fig. 10 is a detail. view taken on the line l k s f fl i by h v nesto aminimum. 10-10 of Fig, 9,- o parts be shown in To further prevent leakage of fluid between por-' full and some parts being shown in section. tions of the chambers, divided by the vanes and The wall is indicated ,by the numeral 10, the their cooperating s i t w ls 19 of the 45 do r opening th i 11, a pair of doors for casings A are formed opposite the spindles 25 the opening by 12 and the door hinges by 13, with grooves 33 that extend parallel to the axis of The pintles of the hinges are indicated by 14. the spindles and which grooves are fitted with The doors 12' are operated from a common prisealing strip whi h are Spring-pressed ainst mary motive device in the form of a reversible h Sp ndl s. 50 electric motor 15 through hydraulic. power trans- Extend t oueh the tto f ach easing .mission mechanism including a suitable rotary 17 andc mmuni atin with the chamber 18 fluid pressure pump 16, and a, pair of secondary thereof, one on'each side of the vane 30 in the motive devices in the form or -fluid pressure hambenare fluid passages or ports 35and 36.

5 motors A that are arranged to .be operated from It will be pp that when fluid is forced 56 vane and its spindle and arm will be moved thereby in a clockwise direction or door opening direction.

By reference particularly to Figs. 6 and '1, it will be noted that the bottom 21 of the casings 1'! are each formed with a cylindrical valve chamber 37 that is connected by means of fluid passages 35 and 36 respectively, to the ports 35 and 36, respectively. Communication between these passages 35 and 36 through their connected valve chambers 36 and consequent short circuit of fluid between ports 35 and 36. is normally prevented by means of needle valves 38 that work in spaced parallel holes 39 in a plug-like member 40. The holes 39 are each aligned with a passage 35 or 36 Interposed between the inner end of the plug 40 and the bottom of the valve chamber 37 is a suitable gasket 41 that is provided with holes 41 that afford communication between the holes 39 in the plug 40 and aligned passages 35- or 36*. The plug 40 is forced in the chamber 37 and is pressed tightly against the gasket 41, which gasket prevents leakage of fluid between the passages 35 and 36 or past the plug 40. The bottoms or inner ends of the holes 39 in the plug 40 are reduced to aiford seats 42 for the tapered inner ends of the needle valves 38 and said holes are connected back of the seats 42 at 43 so that when the' needle valves 38 are moved off of their respective seats 41 communication will be afforded between the passages 35 and 36 thereby rendering their respective motor inoperative and free to be turned manually. v

The needle valves 38, in a particular valve casing 37, are carried in common by and project from the head 44 of a plunger 45 that works through a cap 46 closing that valve casing. These plungers 45 at their outer ends are pivoted to the ends of opposed toggle arms 4'7, the other ends of which toggle arms are pivoted to the intermediate portions of levers 48. The levers 48 at their inner ends are pivotally attached to the bottoms of their respective motors near opposite sides of the valve casings thereof and at their outer ends said arms are connected by an adjustable tension spring 49. These springs 49, through the arms 48,

j toggle arms 47 and plunger 45, hold the needle valves 38 seated, as shown by full lines in Figs. 6 and '7,'under ordinary fluid pressures existing during operation of the fluid pressure motors but said spring will be overcome by excessive pressure produced in the system, in which latter case the springs 49 will yield and permitits cooperating needle valves to be moved off of their seats by e'xcessivepressure applied against the inner end of one of saidvalves. The purpose of these ex cessive pressure operated valves 38 is the provision of means for automatically rendering their respective *motors inoperative in case some obstacle is placed in the path of a cooperating door.

' By reference to dotted lines in Fig. 6 it will be seen that the valves 38 are moved outwardly'by through the levers 48 will hold the parts lockedin their inoperative positions, shown by dotted lines until theparts are manually moved inward to their extreme dead center positions.

In order to open both doors 12 simultaneously, it is necessary that the motors A be operated, from the motor 15, simultaneously in reverse directions and to this end the port 35 of the righthand motor A and port 36 of the left-hand motor A are connected together and to like sides of the pump 16 -by pipes 50 and a T connection 51 and port 35 of the left-hand motor A and port 36 of the right-hand motor A are connected together and to the opposite side of pump 16 by pipes 52 and a T connection 53.

As a means for manually rendering either of the door operating motors A inoperative independent of the other thereof, I interpose, between the pipes 50 and 52 leading to each motor A, a normally closed manually controlled valve 53. These valves 53 when closed, do not effect operation of their respective motors A but when opened permit free circulation of fluidjthrough and between the pipes 50 and 52, independent of said motors and therefor render the motors inoperative. The valves 53 are provided with operating arms 53* and operating strings 53.

The reversible electric motor 15 is of the wellknown commercial form which is provided with three leads, to wit: a common lead 54 and reversing leads 55 and 56. This type of motor .from any suitable source suchas a customary domestic light supply line comprising leads 5'7 and 58. In the particular arrangement illustrated, the common lead 54 of the motor is connected directly to supply circuit lead 58. The reversing lead 56 is independently connectable to the supply circuit lead 57 through either or each of two branch leads 59 that have normally closed trip switches 60 interposed one in each thereof, a lead 61, a manually operated single .pole double throw control switch 62 and a lead located in any desired position but will preferably be situated outside of the building where it can conveniently be operated by drivers of cars who wishto open the doors before entering or to close the same after departing therefrom.

The trip switches 60 and 65 are located one oi each on each fluid pressure motor A and are arranged to be automatically controlled by the door operating arms 28, the intermediate portions of which extend parallel to the axis of their respective motors A' and move about and in spaced relation to the segmental portions of said motors. These trip switches 60 and 65 each comprise a casing 6'7 having a bottom 6'7 of insulating material on which is mounteda fixed contact 68, and

an intermediately pivoted contact arm 69 that is normally closed with fixed contact 68 by means of a spring '10. The trip switch casings 67 are mounted on the covers 22 of the casing of motors A and are normally securely held in place at their outer ends by certain of the stud bolts 24 and' washers 24 and at their inner end by split collars 71 that are telescoped over and have quite tight frictional engagement with the bearing bosses 27.

The trip switches are independently adjustable about the axis of their respective motors A when the bolts 24 holding the same are loosened.

The bolts 24 holding the outer ends of the trip switches are, it will be noted, longer than other bolts 24 of the covers 22 of said motors and are interchangeable therewith to permit securing of the trip switches in any desired position on the covers 22. The outer ends of the pivoted switch arms 69 project radially beyond the segmental portions of the motors A into the path of travel of cams 72 that are carried by the arms 28. By particular reference to Fig. 3 it will be noted that the said outer ends of the switch arms 69 are curved in opposite directions to provide cam engaging surfaces 69.

In the arrangement illustrated and, as will hereinafter be more clearly pointed out, the cams '72 on the switch arms 28 engage the pivoted arms of their cooperating trip switches 65 and open said switches when the arms 28 arenear their extreme door closed positions and engage the pivoted arms 69 of their cooperating trip switch 60 and open said switches when the arms 28 are near their extreme door open positions.

Preferably and as illustrated, the connection between-each of the door operating arms 28 and its respective dooris made through an independent automatically operated door latching mechanism '73. Each of these door latching mecha- 'nisms '73 include a plate '14 carried by its re- .spective door near thetop thereof,- a latch bolt -75 working through a'bearing lug '76 formed as part of the plate '14, a pair of toggle arms 77 and a coil compression spring 78. The latch bolts 75, when in an extended operative position, as illustrated, project above the tops of'their respective doors and enter holes79 in members 80 that are secured to the wall 10 above the door opening 11. At their lower end portions, these latch bolts '75 are formed with enlarged heads 81 that afford seats for the lower ends of the springs '78, which springs work on said bolts and are compressed between the bearings '76 and heads 81 of the bolts and tend towithdraw their bolts to an inoperative position. The outer end ofone of the toggle arms 77 is pivotally attached to the head 81 of bolt 75 at 82 and the outer end of the other toggle arm '17 is pivotally attached to a lug 83 formed on the plate 74. "The inner ends of the toggle arms '1'? are pivotally connected together and to one end of a link 84 at 85. The other ends of the links are provided with slots 86 that work loosely over bolts 87 that are carried by the free ends of the arms 28. The bolts 87 .flt loosely in the slots 86 so as to permit slight vertical sliding and rocking movements of said links thereon. It should here be noted, by reference to full lines in Fig. 9, that the inner ends of the toggle arms are moved slightly beyond their dead centers and engage the plate 'I4when the bolts are extended and act to lock said bolts against accidental retraction by their respective springs 82.

Initial movements of the arms 28, in a door opening direction, retract the latch bolts '75 out .of the holes 79 and into engagement with stops jecting of the bolts '15 during closing movements of the doors but will be overcome by pressure applied by the motors A after the doors come to a i stop in a completely closed position and act as a base of reaction.

By means of these latch mechanisms 73, the doors 12 are automatically positively locked closed independent of the locking action of the operating mechanism so that doors can not be opened, by force applied directly to the doors, even to such slight extent as would often be permitted by slack motion in the operating connection or faulty operating mechanism.

Operation To open the doors 12, the movable arm of the manually controlled'switch 62, indicated "by 62", is closedwith lead 61thereby connecting the motor reversing lead 56 to supply lead 57 through lead 63, said lead 61, branch leads 59 and their now closed trip switches 60 and causing the operating mechanism to operate in a direction to open the doors. Initial. door opening movements of the operating arms 28 will release the latches 63 and continued movement thereof will be imparted to the doors. When the doors come approximately to their desired maximum open positions the cams '12 on the arms 28 will engage the arms 69 of the trip switches 60 and open said switches thereby automatically breaking the circuit and rendering the operating mechanism inoperative. The trip switches 65' are obviously permitted to close under initial opening movements but such will be ineffective at'this time because the circuit therethrough is opened by switch 62.

To close thedoors the arm 62 of switch 62 is closed with-lead 66' thereby connecting reversing lead 55 to supply lead 57' through lead 63, said lead 66, branch leads 64 and their now closed trip switches 65. The mechanism will now operate to close the doors and the spring '78 of the latches 63 will resist door closing pressure and prevent projection of the latch bolts 75 until the doors are. completely closed and act as a base of reaction, at which time they will be overcome by pressure of said arms and permit projection of the bolts "75. The trip switches 65 will be opened by the cams 72 when the arms 28 have completed their door closing and latching operations and will again render the mechanism inoperative.

What I claim is: I

1. In a door operating mechanism a fluid pressure motor having apressure chamber, a piston mounted in said chamber and-having operating connections extending therefrom to a door, fluid connections leading to said chamber at opposite sides of the piston, means for alternately forcing fluid into the chamber through opposite of said connections to operate :the piston in reverse directions, a fluidby-pass between the fluid connections at a point ahead of the motor, valve means interposed in the fluid by-pass and subject to opening pressure by fluid in the system, and means operating on the valve means to maintain the same closed against the opening action of the fluid 'under normal pressures but permitting openingof the valve means under excessive pressures and operative on said valve means'subsequent to such opening under excessive pressure to hold the same open subject to manual manlpuconnections extending therefrom to a door, fluid connections leading to said chamber at opposite sides of the piston, means for alternately forcing fluid into the chamber through opposite of said connections to operate the piston in reverse directions, a fluid by-pass between the fluid connections at a point ahead of the motor, valve means interposed in the fluid by-pass and subject to opening pressure by fluid in the system, and

yielding means operating on the valve means to maintain the same closed against the opening action of the fluid under normal pressures but permitting opening of the valve means under excessive pressures and operative on said valve means subsequent to such opening under excessive pressure to hold the some open subject to manual manipulation.

' 3. In a door operating mechanisma fluid pressure motor having a pressure chamber, a piston mounted in said chamber and having operating connections extending therefrom to a door, fluid connections leading to said chamber at opposite sides of the piston, means for alternately forcing fluid into the chamber through opposite of said connections to operate the piston in reverse directions, a fluid by-pass between the fluid connections' at a point ahead of the motor, inwardly closing valve means for controlling the fluid bypass, an opposed pair of levers pivotally mounted beyond opposite sides of the valve means, toggle arms pivotally carried by the valve means at their inner end portions and being pivotally connested at their outer end portions to free portions of opposite of said levers, said toggle arms diverging inwardly toward'the valve means when the valve means is in an inwardly closed position and being movable by the valve means, under the action of excessive fluid pressure, at least to aligned dead center positions, and yielding means tending to move the levers toward one another and the position.

valve means to a closed FRED NICHOLS. 

